


The Black Madness

by sh4pe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Black Family Madness (Harry Potter), Gen, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh4pe/pseuds/sh4pe
Summary: The Black Madness, unbeknownst to all said Blacks, whether by blood or marriage, was a topic most hotly debated among the upper echelons of pureblood society. Behind closed doors it was infamous for turning the most notoriously rational yet bigoted family into delirious and, quite frankly, raving lunatics.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	The Black Madness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArcReactorsandDragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcReactorsandDragons/gifts).



The Black Madness, unbeknownst to all said Blacks, whether by blood or marriage, was a topic most hotly debated among the upper echelons of pureblood society. Behind closed doors it was infamous for turning the most notoriously rational yet bigoted family into delirious and, quite frankly, raving lunatics.

What caused it was unknown. Some thought it was a curse; others, a ritual most dark, gone wrong and backfired. Those more well versed in Muggle science guessed at poor genetics culminated over generations of incest. But one thing was certain: after an unknown period of time after turning of age, any and all Blacks would turn into maniacs. The only known exception was Andromeda Tonks neé Black, which was discovered shortly after her cousin Sirius had been arrested. It may have been her marriage to the Muggleborn Ted Tonks; may have been her marrying shortly after reaching the age of majority; or since she was disowned and cast out of the House of Black for said marriage - there wasn’t a soul in the world who knew.

It had been evident well before the birth of Sirius Black that it was already too late for Walburga and Orion Black. Even the House of Black refrained from marrying relatives as close as first cousins, yet by their thirtieth birthdays they had sired two sons together. Rumour spoke of a third who’d possibly died in childbirth, or had died shortly after due to the sheer deformity of its nature. But that was merely a rumour, and besides - it was taboo to gossip of the dead.

-

When Sirius Orion Black, heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, was sorted into Gryffindor, the rest of the Sacred Twenty Eight was shaken. Was this the end of an era stretching far longer than any of the living members could recall, and at least two generations beyond?

Perhaps Sirius would be different. Perhaps the House of Black would not have an infamous, unmentioned reputation as dark as its name - Sirius could usher in a new generation. No one had ever heard of a Gryffindor Black - perhaps this young boy could be the first to overcome this terrible affliction.

-

Five years after the monumental sorting of the Gryffindor Black, the tension in upper wizarding society was still palpable. It was too early for Sirius to show any signs of the Madness, yet something was wrong. If Sirius was, as many hoped, different to his ancestors, the House of Black would be remade in his image. Many were fearful - after all, they were fervent followers of the Dark Lord Voldemort, and the Gryffindor Black, blood traitor that he was, was a major threat toward their position in the Wizarding World, even if he didn’t realise the political sway he had at his disposal.

That was not the only thing that was wrong, though. Sirius would have to marry and have children, of course. The immunity to the Black Madness  _ had _ to be passed on.

Yet there was no woman Sirius Black was enamoured by. In fact, young Sirius had declined every single marriage prospect he’d been offered.

Sixteen year old Sirius Black, incapable of keeping a secret if his life depended on it, was infatuated with one Remus Lupin.

The Light was horrified, while the Dark rejoiced - however inappropriate it may be to gossip and spy on a teenage boy, this was monumental. Wizarding society was much more accepting of homosexuality than its Muggle counterpart, but those of the Sacred Twenty Eight were expected to sire an heir, a spare and one to marry off. Sexuality came second to duty, to tradition.

As anyone who had met the boy might have guessed, Sirius didn’t give a rat’s arse about tradition or “duty”. He was here for a good time, not a long one, as he had proclaimed to the Great Hall several times across his Hogwarts career.

Augusta Longbottom considered reaching out to Sirius. Somehow, the Blacks were oblivious to the affliction which affected them all. Didn’t Sirius see how dire this was?!

-

When Sirius Black ran away from home, the Wizarding World was horrified. As Regulus Black was forced to proclaim to the Slytherin common room, Sirius Black had been removed from the Black Tapestry. 

The Light caught their breath when they found out it was not by Lord Orion Black, but by the Lady Walburga. She had no power to officially remove Sirius from the House, and their hope remained alive.

Sirius, in the meanwhile, stayed with the Potters. While an established and prominent house, the Potters did not explicitly have any political sway. They had powerful friends, of course, most notably Albus Dumbledore, but where many others would use their affluence to acquire a position among the Wizengamot, perhaps, the elder Potters were irritatingly… chivalrous. It really was a wonder that they hadn’t been Hufflepuffs.

The lack of political power held by the Potters meant that they did not have sufficient knowledge of the Blacks, and of the political climate in the Wizengamot. They had absolutely no idea that Sirius Black had the potential to single handedly turn the tides of the Dark Lord’s regime. They would not provide adequate instruction for him to become a Lord of the Wizengamot. With the Gryffindor Black’s current political stance, perhaps it would be better for the Death Eaters that his power remained unutilised, rather than levied against them.

  
  


-

The death of Regulus Black was a tragedy, as both sides of the conflict would freely admit. The younger brother of the heir was barely eighteen years of age - the decline of his mental health would barely have started, if at all. What concerned the people at the forefront of the war even more, however, was the impact on his brother.

Sirius hadn’t publicly spoken to Regulus for several years. At age nineteen, he hadn’t seen his younger brother for two years, since they had both walked the halls of Hogwarts. However, like the canine he was named after, he had an unwavering sense of loyalty. Though he and Regulus may have differed politically, they were family, both subject to the abhorrent abuse of Orion and Walburga Black. 

Sirius’ public appearances, whether it be his presence at the Three Broomsticks with his boyfriend, or at Quality Quidditch supplies with his best friend, or the Leaky Cauldron, where he and his three friends would get smashed weekly, ceased to be. The participants in the British Wizarding War, though they focused still on defeating the opposing members of the conflict, were absolutely terrified. Had Sirius Black, the hope of the generation, the last Black remaining to continue the family legacy, succumbed to the terrible affliction behind closed doors?

As the Order of the Phoenix found out as they convened one night, six months after the death of the teenage Death Eater, Sirius had not gone insane. One might wonder how they knew, but a determined glint in his eye as he strode into the room, the rest of the Marauders following behind him, convinced all the current members that without a doubt, Sirius Black was back in business. His proclamation to “make those bastards pay for ever touching Reggie” further convinced them that, even if he  _ was _ insane, he was at least against the Dark Lord.

Sirius Black was their secret weapon, working from the shadows to support James Potter and Lily Evans (though she soon became Lily Potter) on their missions for the Order of the Phoenix. Remus Lupin met with werewolves across Britain, campaigning against his counterpart of Fenrir Greyback for lycanthropes to not succumb to the Beast, to fight back, to be heroes in their own right. They didn’t have to fight; if they merely spoke against Greyback and Voldemort, they were doing their part to save the world.

Peter Pettigrew drifted around the Order. He wasn’t particularly proficient with spell casting, which proved to be a problem when it came to combat missions. Instead, he worked toward becoming a journalist for the Daily Prophet, to serve as the Order’s eyes and ears in the corrupt Ministry’s propaganda machine, doing what he could to stop the endorsement of the anti-Muggleborn regime sweeping the nation.

-

When Lily Potter fell pregnant in early 1980, Sirius Black truly stepped up as James’ surrogate brother. Though he disliked staying undercover, he looked after Lily while James was snowed under with work for the Order, and he became young Harry’s godfather. Now twenty one, he fought not only for the memory of Regulus, but a future where his godson could live without prejudice against “outsiders”. 

The Light was overjoyed - they seemed to have won. 

On November 2nd, 1981, when Sirius Black stood laughing maniacally in a devastated street with twelve dead Muggles and a solitary finger, Albus Dumbledore would wonder how he never saw it coming.

Sirius Black had gone insane. And even if he hadn’t, a life sentence in Azkaban for multiple counts of murder and the violation of the Statute of Secrecy, not to mention the grave treachery he had committed against the Potters, would surely send that bastard’s brain to oblivion. It was more than he deserved.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday Arc! I hope you have an amazing day!


End file.
